After settling down from a minor skirmish with one of my daughters concerning her best interest, I’m reminded of a cruel paradox which life throws in our laps as we become parents.

We spend the first 18 years of our lives trying to escape the clutches of control our parents have over us only to find ourselves, a few short years later, on the other side of the fence raising our kids with an entirely different point of view. You might say…it’s payback time.

As new parents of infants, we see ourselves in the control mode.  As time progresses, we segue into more of a guidance role as we teach the fundamentals of life.  During the awkward early teen years, we again call it…control.  They call it an illusion. Shortly thereafter, it hopefully morphs into a semblance of mutual respect and trust…with a little less illusion for good measure. Then, somewhere down the road after a lot of kicking and screaming, we finally…let go.

And therein lies Bill Peak’s weakness.  I have not yet found that perfect time or place to let go. So for now…at least for me, “letting go” is just an illusion…but I’m working on it.  Let’s just say it’s an illusion in progress.

Bill Peak
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